On February 18, 2025, a sign for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is seen on February 18, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.
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The CEO of NPR and PBS said they are looking for options to challenge the Trump administration after the president’s executive order to cut public funds to news and media organizations.
“We are looking at the options for us,” said the CEO of NPR, Katherine Maher, “Face the Nation” on Sunday when asked if they would file a lawsuit. “I think it is a bit preliminary for us to be able to speak with specific strategies that we would take.”
“We have never seen a circumstance like this and obviously we will go back very strong,” said the CEO of PBS, Paula Kerger.
As of May 2, at least 135 demands had been submitted to stop at least some of the executive orders of the Trump administration, according to reports of the New York Times, including issues such as the dismissal of thousands of federal employees, the Government Efficiency Department, Immigration Policies, Rates and others.
NPR Maher said that possible fund cuts would reach the local stations and their audience. NPR has 246 member organizations with writing rooms in each state.
The federal fund cuts would be harmful to journalists who cover their local communities, “especially at a time when we are seeing an advance of news deserts throughout the country,” said Maher. “Twenty percent of Americans do not have access to another local news source. The impact of this could be really devastating, particularly in rural communities.”
The National Public Radio (NPR) headquarters in Washington, DC, USA, on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
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Kerger said PBS obtains 15% of his federal government funds together, but some stations in small communities obtain 40% to 50% of their public funds budgets. “For them, it is existential, and that is what is at risk if this financing disappears,” he said.
Kerger said the Executive Order could affect the PBS funds of the Department of Education, a 30 -year association that has supported research, development and creation of children’s educational programming, such as “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“Half of the children in this country are not registered in formal pre-k,” Kerger said. “That is why programming for children on public television was created.”
Development programming “would stop,” Kerger said.
“We work directly with preschool and parents suppliers, and this finances those activities, so the immediate impact would be quite significant,” he said.
Correction: This article has been updated to show that NPR has 246 member organizations with writing networks in each state. An earlier version erroneously indicated the number of writing rooms.
